Mail box



Nov. 18, 1958 'r. J. MRENZA 2,860,830

MAIL BOX Filed Oct. 30, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. F '19 5 THoMAs J. MRENZA .i mamd 3.

A TTORNEK Nov. 18, 1958 T. J. MRENZA 2,860,830

MAIL BOX Filed Oct. 50, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 77-I0MAS J. MRENZA Arroe/vzzv United States Patent This invention 'relates' toan improvedu iail box and more particularly to such mail box made from sheet metal byi':stampingisoperatio'ns.

Considerableiid'ifiicultiesi areJexperienced-"by Virttially aeveryll household with" r 'espect' to receipt of mail and newspapers. s The size' of km'any natio'na'lma-gazines' distributed thrugl12: the mail: is" rather -large =-andrequires 2 'fortheirireceipt a1 mai1::box'- of such a l'argesize as-to .n be impractical. In: additionpalthough local newspapers mare usually delivered 'ibynewsboys living ifi the*vicinity wand-having a' newspaper route} a considefable number of newspapers; particularly "those s'ent out; of town, is

stillldistributedthroughi the mails' -A =rna=gazinelor a 'newspaper whichcannot be put in a mail boxor-put zinside the front door :on handed to 'some person" in' the household is :usually left= 'o1i the porch "In ease 'ofrain .w-tsuchizrnagazine or' newspaper lying in' a pool of water ir'even'icfor a Fshort ctime': becomes so soaked in water as to become very heavy and diflicult to -'dry. V

Conventional mail boxes also po'ssess a number of disadvantages even with res'pect to first' class n'iail,:.particula'rly in -the construction -of Atheir' "covers intended to I make suchboxes waterproof. With -the cover-' a'nd 1. its hinge being necessarily located atithe top 'ofthe box, misuch hinge presents the 'd'a'nger of leakag'e :of rainwater 1 into the box. A large' numbei' of constructions;'including mai l bo'xes with doublecovers' havebeen devis'ed,

- 1. seeking to eliminate this difficulty. '7' Yet th'e problem of providing a completely-waterproof mail box and particularly one adapted to receive noton'ly'first class mail but also magazines and newspapers is 'still not fully persisted for many years" andits difficulties anddisadvantages are" faced daily='-by many- 'millions' 'of people.

*One of the objects of the-present invention is to vprovide an improved mailbox Whereby' the' above difiicul- -ties anddisadvantages*areovercomeandlargely eliminated, and a. mail box is provided -which 'in spite' of its relatively smallsize'and compactness, 1 is'fcap'able of receiving not only the first 'class mail butalsomaga- 1 zines andsome newspapers.

Another object of the present invention lS"t0'='pIOVid6 a mail box capable of supportinglargernewspapers such as Sunday issues and'thus keeping such papers out of pools of'water in case of rain.

A still further object of the presentinventionis to "provide 'an improved mailbox of the foregoing'character, having a hinged cover so constructed that the hinge is-completely concealed from "view and is also 'fully shielded from the rain water as well as water .directed fromthe' sides orthe front of the mail box as J may be in"-the case' of lawn lwatering water hose.

'-'forming functions 'making the mail box operate i ii its entirety in a greatly improved manner.

Further objects and advantages of this-inventiom-will -be "apparent-Iromthefollowing description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings-forming a p'art-" of this" specification, -wherein like reference characters: de'signate correspondingparts in" the several views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating my'improved mail -box 'affixed to a='wall.

Fig. 2- -is -anenlargedsectional view-' taken -in"-the direction of -the arrows on -the section plane passing through the line of Fig; 1. e

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view' -showing the top portion of the mail box including the concealed hinge and thevisor covering the asame; with the' cover of-the'boxbeing showmin its fully*.open-position.

5 Fig-.- 4 is a view partly'in-section taken in' the direction of the "arrows onthe*sectionplane passing through-'the of the mail box.

'Fig. 5 is a sectional-view -taken in the direction-of the arrows on the section plane passing=-thro ugh the line' s ia" of-Fig'. 2.

.Fig. 6 is an exploded view illustrating -"-all of t-he :parts"required for constructing my improved mail box, namely, two fiat blanks "-of sheet metaland a straight piece of Wire.

Fig. 7--'illustrates--the method ofassembling the mail box-to'-'connect the woven-to the-box 'by inserting *-the hinge wire through* the: hinge "curls {and trapping =tl1e wire-'in place by" bending the side wing or -flange.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary 'perspective view showingone of the flanges on-the visor covering the" "hingeoffthe cover. 7 ""It' is to-be understood--that the invention -is' not limited in-its application to*thedetails-of construction and arrangement of partsillustratedin the-accompany ing drawingsysince"theinvention isfcapable or other embodiments and "of being practiced or-carried out "in various ways. I 'phraseology and terminology employed=herein isfor the Also, it is to be understoodthat the purposeof description and'not of limitation.

' magazine is reduced to"one-half of what wouldbe'Tequired to receive an unfolded magazine. "The'previously proposed mail boxes intended to receive unfolded"magazines had to be made in asize of virtually a suitcase.

In addition, my improved mail box is so constructed that the hinge connecting the cover to the box iscompletely concealed'from view and is fully covered and protected from being reached by rainwater or'even water from a Water hose. In the'mail boxes of conventional construction provision of a hinge attheutop thereof not only presented the danger of leakage of rain water but also a place where rust would soon appear, making the mail box rather unsightly. 'I also provide a novel construction whereby my improved mail box can be made of sheet metal from a minimum number of pieces, namely, two. sheet metal pieces orblanks and a straight piece of Wireand yet. produce a construction-including a large number of novel features not found in conventional mail boxes, and producing greatly superior operation of the mail box. V

In the drawings there is shown by wayof'exarnple one embodiment of the present invention.' Referring specifically to the drawings, my improved =mail box comprises generally a-box B of downwardlyconverging shape and a cover C connected to the box by a hinge H concealed under the visor 10. The box B comprises a back wall 11, a front wall 12, end walls 13 and 14, and a bottom 15. The-back wall 11 is made of greater height than the front wall 12 and, therefore, the end walls 13 and 14 have their upper edges sloping down toward the front wall 12, as is best shown in Figs. 2 and 7. i

The back wall 11 extends upwardly further than the general outline of the box Btoprovide an upstanding flange 9 which is, in effect, a continuation of the wall 11 above the general outline of the box B, and a down wardly and forwardly bent visor 10, the front portion of which is bent upon itself as is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 at 16. The portion 16 extends toward the back wall 11 for a substantial distance, and the back edge thereof is provided with hinge curls 1 7 to form a portion of the hinge.

The cover C comprises a flat portion 20 having downwardly depending flanges 21 and 22 along its end edges, and a downwardly depending flange 23 along its front edge. Along the back edge of the flat cover portion 20 there is provided an upwardly extending flange 24. Along the upper edge of the flange 24 there are provided curls 25 complementary to the curls 17 of the portion 16. A straight piece of wire 30 passed through the aligned curls 17 and 25 completes the hinge connecting the cover C to the box B.

By virtue of the construction disclosed above, the hinge H is disposed well under the visor 10, and above the front edge thereof.

The flanges 21, 22 and 23 of the cover C overhang the end walls 13 and 14 and the front wall 12 of the box B, thus completely enclosing the upper edges thereof and directing rain water downwardly on the outside of the box. The visor has at its ends downwardly depending flanges 26 and 27 overhanging the ends of the cover flanges 21 and 22 as is best shown in Fig. 4. By virtue of such a construction, entry of the rain water into the box at the back corners thereof is prevented.

It should be appreciated that the flanges or tabs 26 and 27 may be regarded as downward continuations of the visor 10 or as forwardly directed protrusions of the up standing flange 9 and the top portion of the back wall 11. Obviously, the tabs 26 and 27 may be made as continuations of either of these portions or may be made as separate pieces and secured to said portions in any desirable manner. In the present embodiment of the invention, the flanges or tabs 26 and 27 are made as a continuation of the upstanding flange 9 and of the top ,7

portion of the back wall 11, as is best shown in Figs. 6 and 7. However, I do not wish to be limited to such a construction since the important consideration is the provision of such flanges 26 and 27, rather than how they appear in the blank. Draining holes 35 are provided in the bottom of the box and beaded screw or nail holes 36 are provided in the upper portion of the back wall 11, as shown. Location of the screw or nail holes 36 is such that they can be conveniently reached with a screw driver or a hammer when the cover C is open. Spring clips 40 are riveted or otherwise secured to the bottom 15 of the box and extend upwardly as shown in the drawings, being thus adapted to support bulky newspapers such as a Sunday paper. A latch 41 which may be of a type commonly used in suitcases may be provided for securely locking down the cover C.

It is preferable to have the box B between 12 and 16 inches in length and approximately 7 inches in its median height. The width of the box at the bottom should be made preferably between 1 and 2 inches, and at the top between 3 and 4 /2 inches. A box of such proportions takes all magazines folded longitudinally, i. e. along the middle line parallel to its bound side, virtually all first class mail with the exception of some unusual packages.

. small parcel post packages, as well as newspapers received corners of the cover.

by mail and folded in a manner customary for such a newspaper. The clips can support the more bulky newspapers and prevent them from becoming soaked while lying on a porch. It should be appreciated that even if such newspaper remains outside of the box during a rain but ofl? the floor of the porch, the rain water will drain relatively quickly from it and, unless the rain continues for many hours, it normally will not absorb as much water as it would lying in a pool of water, and, therefore, it can be dried more quickly.

Figs. 6 and'7- illustrate my improved method of making the improved mail box disclosed above. In accordance with invention, I provide two sheet metal blanks generally designated by Bb and Cb and a piece of wire 30. The portions of the blanks formed into portions of the mail box are designated by the same numerals as the respective portions of the formed mail box with a letter b added to indicate that the respective portion is still in blank form.

The box blank Bb comprises the back wall portion 11b, the bottom portion 15b, the front wall portion 12b and the end wall portions 13b and 14b. The back wall portion 11b has at its top a portion 9b, visor portion 10b, and the portion 16b provided with a number of tabs 17b intended to be bent to form the curls 17. Tabs or hinges 26b and 27b are also provided as sidewise continuations of the portions 9b and of the upper part of the back wall 11b. Suitable flanges are provided along the edges of the portions 26b, 27b, 11b, 13b and 14b to provide overlapping joints, as well as along the edges of the portions 13b, 12b and 14b which are to become upper edges of the box, thusstrengthening construction of the box and 'making its upper edges well rounded. The portions 13b and 14b may be made as continuations of the portion 11b. However, this would result in seams being in front, and such expedient isnot preferable.

Thecover blank Cb comprises a flat portion 20b having flat portions 21b, 22b and 23b which are to form downwardly depending flanges 21, 22 and 23, respectively, and a portion 24b with the tabs 25b intended to form the upstanding flange 24 bent at an acute angle to the portion 20b, as is best shown in Fig. 2, to form a trough having open ends and a V cross section. Hinged curls 25 are formed along the upper edge of the flange 24.

In producing my improved mail box, I first provide blanks Rb and Cb, as shown, and a piece of wire 30. Thereupon, the tabs 17b and 25b are curled on the radius determined by that of the wire 30 to receive the same. Thereupon, the blanks are bent on lines indicated in Fig. 6 in phantom lines with the exception of one of the side tabs 26b or 27b. Some or all of the overlapping seams may be soldered or welded. I prefer to solder two vertical seams at the junctures of the portions 13b with 11b; the portions 14b with 11b; and at the front I also prefer to solder the seam or the place of juncture of the portions 27b with 10b, and portion 26b with portion 10b although soldering of one of such seams is doneas the last assembly operation, as explained below.

After the blanks described below are bent and soldered as explained below with the exception of one of the sides or wings, wing 26b in the embodiment illustrated (see Fig. 7), the curls 17 and 25 are aligned and the wire 30 is passed through them, thus connecting the cover C to the box B. Thereupon, the tab 26b is bent and its place of juncture with the visor 10 is soldered, thus locking the wire 30 in place. By virtue of such an expedient, while movement of the wire 30 longitudinally of the hinge may still be possible for a very short distance, coming out of the wire is prevented.

My improved mail box may be made of any suitable sheet material, particularly sheet metal, and such sheet metal may be tinned or galvanized either in sheet form, or the box and the cover may be galvanized or tinned after forming but before assembly. My improved. mail .5 box may also be made of polished metal sheets, or it may be polished and lacquered after forming; a coat of paint or any other suitable protective layer may also be provided.

By virtue of the above disclosed construction, objects of the invention listed above and numerous additional advantages are attained.

I claim:

1. A mail receiver comprising a box open at its top, and including a back wall, a front wall, two side walls, and a bottom; an upstanding flat portion provided along the top edge of said back wall and eXtending upwardly therefrom for a substantial distance, a visor extending downwardly and forwardly from the upper edge of said upstanding portion and terminating forwardly and below the upper edge of said portion, a swinging cover for said box adapted to close substantially the entire top opening of said box and having along its rear edge a flange extending upwardly and forwardly, a hinge provided underneath said visor and connecting said swinging cover thereto along the upper edge of its upwardly and forwardly extending flange, the ends of said upstanding portion of the back wall and said visor extending for a substantial distance beyond the sides of said cover, and depending flanges provided on the ends of said visor and overlying the rear portion of the sides of said cover.

2. A mail receiver comprising a box open at its top, and including a back wall, a front wall, two side walls, and a bottom; an upstanding flat portion provided along the top edge of said back wall and extending upwardly therefrom for a substantial distance, a visor extending downwardly and forwardly from the upper edge of said upstanding portion and terminating forwardly and below the upper edge of said portion, a swinging cover for said box adapted to close substantially the entire top opening of said box and having along its rear edge a flange extending upwardly and forwardly, a hinge provided underneath said visor and connecting said swinging cover thereto along the upper edge of its upwardly and forwardly extending flange, the ends of said upstanding portion of the back wall and said visor extending for a substantial distance beyond the sides of said cover, and depending flanges provided on the ends of said visor and overlying the rear portion of the sides of said cover, said hinge being formed by the front edge of said visor being turned back and upwardly upon itself and provided with hinge curls along its upper edge with the complementary curls being provided along the upper edge of the forwardly and upwardly directed flange on said cover, and a hinge shaft connecting said curls together to form a hinge, the cover and the flange along the rear edge thereof forming, when the cover is open, a trough having open ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 829,498 Wright Aug. 28, 1906 877,952 Saltonstall Feb. 4, 1908 930,922 Bates Aug. 10, 1909 1,026,078 Davis May 14, 1912 2,194,226 Holdren Mar. 19, 1940 2,578,691 Gieseler Dec. 18, 1951 

